Activists have targeted the London steak restaurant owned by flamboyant social media influencer Salt Bae.
The Animal Rebellion group, an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion, said eight people entered the Nusr-Et steakhouse in the upmarket central London district of Knightsbridge at about 6pm and sat at tables that were already reserved.
Salt Bae, whose real name is Nusret Gokce and who shared a picture of himself at the World Cup on Friday, became a viral internet hit for his technique of sprinkling salt on to pieces of steak.
The protest group said in a press release it is calling for "a plant-based food system and mass rewilding".
Student Ben Thomas, 20, said: "Restaurants like these are symbolic of a broken system.
"Whilst two million people are relying on food banks in the UK right now, influencer chefs are selling gold-plated steaks for more than £1,000.
"Steaks, and other red meats, that we know carry the highest environmental impacts."
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Animal Rebellion)Image:
Animal Rebellion)It comes weeks after a similar stunt at Gordon Ramsay's three-star Michelin restaurant in Chelsea.
Images showed restaurant staff removing protesters from the building.
The Metropolitan Police said it had been called to Nusr-Et on Saturday but later said police attendance was not required as the protesters had left.
The force said: "At 18:08hrs on Saturday, 3 December police were made aware of a protest at a restaurant in Knightsbridge, SW1. The group subsequently left the area and police attendance was not required."
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Animal Rebellion)Salt Bae, who started out as a butcher in his native Turkey, has an estimated net worth of $60 million (£44) and owns a fleet of restaurants spanning the globe.
His eateries have hosted stars such as David Beckham, Leonardo DiCaprio, Snoop Dogg and Conor McGregor.
The steakhouses are also famed for their exorbitant prices and decadent dishes - a gold-plated tomahawk steak will set you back a whopping £1,450.
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Animal Rebellion)In October 2021, a party of four diners at his Knightsbridge restaurant were slapped with a bill of more than £37,000 for their meal.
An image shared of the receipt showed a charge of £19,900 for two bottles of the highly exclusive 2003 Petrus wine.
A 15% service charge of £4,829 was also added.
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nusr_et/Instagram)
Not everyone was sympathetic to the group, however, with one Reddit user commenting:
"You don't accidentally order the most expensive brand of wine in the world 3 times. You can google their menu and the prices are all written on it.”
